Banjo, you conveniently left out New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which sold 28 million copies and is the 4th best selling Wii title. Lets compare that to Mario Galaxy, which we all know was the first 3d Mario game for the Wii. That only sold 12 million. Mario Galaxy 2? Only sold 6 million. That's 18 million combined. So I have a question. Banjo, if 3d is more popular than 2d, how do you explain why New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold 10 million more copies than both Mario Galaxies combined?

[QUOTE=Jon]Banjo, you conveniently left out New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which sold 28 million copies and is the 4th best selling Wii title. Lets compare that to Mario Galaxy, which we all know was the first 3d Mario game for the Wii. That only sold 12 million. Mario Galaxy 2? Only sold 6 million. That's 18 million combined. So I have a question. Banjo, if 3d is more popular than 2d, how do you explain why New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold 10 million more copies than both Mario Galaxies combined?[/QUOTE]

Why do you keep bringing up Mario? Is Mario the only 2D franchise in existence? If 2D Mario games are doing so well then 2D gaming as a whole must be doing just as well, right? No. They're not. Give me a single 2D console game that sold at retail at full price ($60 on PS3, 360 and $50 on Wii) and sold 1/4 what Mario Wii did. You can't. It doesn't exist. But keep pretending they're the same.

[QUOTE=HardcoreSadism]No, it's just Jon ironically deconstructing 3D as a major root to all gaming's problems nowadays.[/QUOTE]

I'm just trying to figure out why he's so stuck on the Jaguar when other, later systems are actually more capable in 2D, starting with the Saturn. (The PlayStation is a different story, and I think there's reasonable evidence that the Jaguar was at least its match in 2D.)

He keeps talking about how "the Dreamcast doesn't have clean visuals" in 2D and how its graphics "were very blurry". The only thing I can come up with to make sense of that comment is if he really, really hates anti-aliasing. But then I don't understand why he wouldn't like the Saturn, which has that raw look in 3D games (I guess that's what he means by "clean"?) and was a 2D powerhouse.

All this would make far more sense to me if the Nintendo 64 were the object of attack. I like some N64 titles quite a bit, but it's the one system that has reliably given me motion sickness with its 3D games, and I think the omnipresent blur has something to do with it.

Jon, the answer to your question is simple: "OMG! 4 PLAYER MARIO BROTHERS!" It tickled the nostalgia bone of every parent who grew up with 2D Mario. Also, kids could buy the game and play with their friends. Rest assured that, without that ace in the hole, it would have likely moved Mario Galaxy numbers or less.

Here's a more important question, Jon: which Mario is held in higher regard?

It's worth mentioning Nintendo did release other 2D Mario platformers past 1991,as remakes, Super Mario All Stars (1993), with vibrant graphics and colours as well asSuper Mario Deluxe on GB Colour in 1999. Super Mario Land 2 on Game Boy came outin 1992, Wario Land in 1994, then you have the Kirby games, the Yoshi's games, the DonkeyKong Country games... The GBA came out in 2001, with SNES like 2D graphics. They neverreally abandoned 2D, except with the N64 to some extent, but you almost always had 2D optionsbe they on traditionnal consoles or handhelds. They did release Mario 64 instead of Super Mario Universe 5,that's right. Maybe they didn't want to saturate the market, Mario this, Mario that, he stayed omnipresent thanks to multiple cameo appearances. And Mario 64 was a huge success. They figured they had taken the right route,tides had just turned to 3D, they assumed they had to be in for the ride... Wise business decision, all things considered.

Still, when you look at things with the right perspective, you realize 2D never disappeared, despite the 3D craze,It stayed significant with the arcades, and lots of these games were eventually ported to consoles like the PS1, the Saturn, theDreamcast, the PS2... Mainstream consoles. Wonderful looking games. And, of course, Native did eventually come out. On Dreamcast,with objectively better tech than the Jaguar's.

3D was more popular... in the mid 90's, when it came out! Things change... 3D has become the norm, doesn't necessarilymean that's what people prefer today, especially when they can have both styles. Besides, nostalgia plays its part too, as far as the NSMB series.

Especially with how things are now, people are working hard and long hours, going to college, etc., I don't understand who has time for these complex 3d games. For the sake of anyone who doesn't have oodles of time like kids, there should be a renewed focus on 2d.